scorecard
  1. Home
  2. sports
  3. One of the toughest World Cup groups is suddenly in chaos, and now Lionel Messi and Argentina have been thrown a lifeline to advance

One of the toughest World Cup groups is suddenly in chaos, and now Lionel Messi and Argentina have been thrown a lifeline to advance

Tyler Lauletta   

One of the toughest World Cup groups is suddenly in chaos, and now Lionel Messi and Argentina have been thrown a lifeline to advance
Sports1 min read

Lionel Messi

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

After two disappointing results, Argentina's window to escape the group stage of the World Cup looked to be closing, but Nigeria threw Lionel Messi and company a lifeline with its 2-0 win over Iceland on Friday.

With just two matches remaining before the knockout stage of the 2018 World Cup, Group D is in chaos.

After two disappointing performances from group favorite Argentina, it looked as though Iceland's path to advancing was clear, but on Friday the tiny island nation fell to Nigeria, and now we won't know who will escape to the knockout stage until the final two matches are played on Tuesday.

Group leader Croatia has already sealed its spot in the final bracket of 16, but Argentina, Nigeria, and Iceland all still have paths to keep their World Cup dream alive.

Here is how each of the teams can advance to the knockout round:

Chances of advancing based on FiveThirtyEight's SPI ratings.

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement